In the Shadow of the Moon
by mochi2isluv
Summary: Demons are rising all over Nippon, and now it's up to Aki, the son of Amaterasu, to solve the mystery behind the disappearance of the brush gods and the truth behind the real Lord of Darkness. 2nd gen Okami/Okamiden fic.
1. Prologue

**A/N: This story was completely inspired by Lechku and Nechku, so I would like to dedicate this to them because they're freaking awesome bosses. Plus I like clocks and all the gears and stuff. Way cool. Anyway. Yeah. They got me thinking...so I came up with this. And it spawned a whole new second-generation story. Meheheheh...I only own the plot and the OCs.  
**

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**Prologue:**

A man stepped out onto the smooth, glassy surface of the clock, his polished _geta_ clicking softly and echoing in the crisp night air. He walked up to what was left of the mechanical owls and picked up a couple pieces: a golden gear, a silver eyepiece. He eyed them with mild interest before tossing them to the ground. A few black, twisted trees in the turrets had caught some stray pendulums, which were swaying slightly in the wind. Stopped. Everything had stopped.

A twitching movement caught the man's attention, and he looked down at the broken figures. The silver owl's head jerked a couple degrees backward, as if still in the throes of death. How sad. Everything should have stopped, just like the hands of the clock on the golden owl, just like the mechanized slots on the silver one. Which, speaking of them, had stopped on what the man found was a very fitting _End of Days. _The man extended his hand, fingers splayed, and the twitching head blasted outward in a million pieces, as if dismantled and torn apart from the inside.

Slowly, once more, his eyes took in the scene before him with barely any emotion. Broken. Everything was broken. But that was no problem for him. For broken things could be fixed.

He rested his hand on the golden owl's hat and listened to wind at the top of the mountain with a slight smile on his face. Another one of his toys was surely being played with by now. And if it got broken, no big matter. After all, he would just have to fix it again.

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**A/N: Not much for now, but it _is_ the prologue, after all. Even so, PLEASE REVIEW! :D**


	2. The Stone Tower

**A/N: Alright, onto the story! (kind of). It's actually in the past, which is why I put it in italics. Aki and Toi are 6 or so. And they're all mine ^-^  
**

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**Chapter 1: The Stone Tower**

_"Toi! Wait! Don't leave me behind!" Toi grinned mischievously as Akihiko caught up to her, his eyes wide open for fear of losing sight of her in the forest. She giggled and flicked her tail at him before leaping down another twisty path._

_"Toooiiii!" Aki cried, his voice edged with panic. "Toi, please wait! I don't know Yoshpet as well as you do!"_

_"Okay, okay," she conceded, and slowed down for him. She couldn't help showing off—after all, usually it was Aki who was better at everything. Aki was a divine being, so of course he was nearly perfect. Just like his mother, Amaterasu, he had a shimmering white coat patterned with signature red divine markings. His eyes, which had lost their panic now that she was walking next to him, were a deep blue, just like the color of the icy sea. Even his name was divine: Akihiko, meaning "shining prince". He was almost the exact opposite of herself, with her dark black and blue fur and white markings in the same places as a fox. She was an Oina with a black fox's mask, and her name, Toitoi, meant earth in Ainu._

_Toi's father found Aki one day curled up in the snow when he was barely 6 months old. She had been born a couple months earlier, and so they were raised together like brother and sister. Everyone knew as soon as they saw him that he was the son of Amaterasu. Of course, Toi didn't understand why, but her mother told her that the great sun goddess had come to Kamui a long time ago and helped them defeat some demons that almost destroyed their village. After that, she boarded a great metal ark in the middle of Laochi Lake and left the mortal world to go to the Celestial Plain. The great sun goddess held the form of a white wolf with the same divine markings as Aki. What no one knew, however, was why the goddess would send down her son to earth, unless perhaps something terribly wrong was going on in the heavens._

_"Where are we going, anyway, Toi?" Aki asked._

_"Nowhere in particular," she replied happily. "Just exploring."_

_Aki didn't seem to like the sound of that. "I hope you know where you're going," he said nervously._

_"Of course I do! I know every leaf, tree, and corner of this fores—" She stopped suddenly, her eyes narrowing down a path that she was positive hadn't existed before. This path was narrower and darker than the others, but was straight and grew none of the cursed trees that threw fruits at them. Curious, she headed towards it._

_Aki tried sniffing the air, but it was useless because of the heavy mist. He gave up and followed after Toi, who had a much better sense of the forest anyway. Besides, if any monsters came, he knew how to deal with them. Those thoughts reassured him, and he even felt a shiver of excitement at the thought of exploring a place no one had ever been._

_The two young wolves crept down the narrow path. As they went further, the snow became thinner and they saw that they were walking on a neatly cobbled stone pathway. The air became clearer and lighter too as the mist lifted away. At last, the path opened up into a small, round clearing, and in the center of the clearing was a tall stone tower. The tower had thirteen sections that were separated by a medium sized band of stone, and each of the sections seemed to have some sort of carvings on them, but Aki and Toi couldn't tell what they were because the stone was so old and corroded. At the very top of the tower was what looked like an observatory._

_Aki and Toi looked at each other. "You want to go inside?" Toi asked._

_Aki nodded, his eyes gleaming. Maybe they would find treasure! He learned a lot about treasure from Issun, and an old tower like this was exactly the type of thing that would store it._

_Toi turned into her human form and opened the door for them, then turned back into a wolf. She felt much safer as a wolf, since she was much faster at running and could at least bite and scratch if she needed to._

_The tower was empty except for a spiral staircase that led to the top. The young wolves took a deep breath, quivering with excitement._

_They took the staircase slowly, not wanting to disturb anything that could possibly be sleeping in the tower. After what seemed like an eternity, they reached the top and pushed open the old wooden door._

_The room was perfectly round and was very tall. There were long, narrow windows all around the walls, and the entire room was cluttered with desks, papers, blueprints, and half-finished inventions. The walls soared above them and were topped with a glass half-dome, through which the bright night sky shone down on a man sitting at the center of the stone floor, tinkering with pieces of metal. The man himself had his back to them, but he turned around as soon as they entered and gazed at them with his sharp gray eyes as if he was expecting them. His hair was cut short and hovered in a straight line just over his shoulders, sparkling almost silver in the moonlight. He seemed infinitely old and yet young at the same time, as if time had miraculously stopped for him years and years ago. He smiled slightly at them._

_"No need to be shy, children. Come in, come in."_

_Toi looked at Aki with wide eyes, wondering if it was alright. The man didn't smell like a demon, and he didn't seem to have bad intentions. The two of them stepped forward and nervously approached the strange man. He continued to fiddle with his work and then abruptly held out his palms to them, revealing two tiny copper birds. The birds shook their heads and opened their eyes at the wolves, then spread their wings and flew little circles around each of them, finally coming to rest on their heads._

_"They seem to have taken a liking to you," he said. Aki and Toi looked up with wonder as the little copper birds peeped softly and preened their feathers. "They're all yours, if you want them."_

_"Really?" Toi asked. She changed into a human and the bird, disrupted from its nesting spot, cheeped and flew circles around her until it came to rest on her palms. "It's…beautiful!" she marveled. "Did you make these, Uncle?"_

_"I did," he said. His eyes twinkled. "I enjoy making toys like these, but I have never given any away before. The two of you are special children."_

_Aki and Toi swelled with the pride of being the first ones to ever receive such an amazing gift. "Special," they repeated, feeling the taste of the word on their tongues._

_"Oh yes," said the man. "In fact, I have been expecting you two. There is a story I wish to share, that can only be told in the light of the full moon."_

_He looked upward at the vaulted ceiling, where, sure enough, a silver moon cast its light into the tower. Mesmerized, Toi sat down and pulled Aki into her lap. Normally he hated when she did that to him, knowing full well he couldn't change into a human, but he let it slide this time and listened to the man's tale._

_"Once upon a time, there was a proud and dignified tribe of people who lived on the moon. These people were even more advanced than we are, and were well known for the things they made. Nothing was impossible for them. They made amazing things, beautiful things, useful things. Now dear children, do you know where demons come from?"_

_"Kamui," Toi said. "My mother told me all demons originated in Kamui."_

_The man smiled and shook his head. "They did not used to come from Kamui, dear one. Demons came to Kamui from somewhere else—a place so desolate and far from the sun that the Celestials in heaven feared all who lived in its shadows. No, children, demons came from the moon."_

_By this time, Aki and Toi were completely absorbed in the story. They leaned forward slightly, hanging onto every word that came from the man's mouth._

_"And so you see the problem. The Moon Tribe was cursed to live with these demons, who spawned in the dark side of the moon. On nights like these, the demons can't see you, but beware on those nights when the moon refuses to shine, for it is then that the demons are watching, and listening…_

_"But anyway, in the Moon Tribe there was a man, well educated and well respected by his peers. This man was also highly favored by the Princess, who took him as her second-in-command. At this point in time, there was conflict amongst members of the Moon Tribe concerning the demons that plagued them. Some wished to rid the moon of those demons. Others, however, wanted to keep them on the moon."_

_"Why would you want to keep demons?" Toi wondered, hugging Aki tighter and her eyes growing wide._

_"Because it was in fact the demons who taught the Moon Tribe their secrets," the man said softly. "The greater demons were considered the gods of some Moon Tribe members. See, children, the demons weren't evil in those days. They were just different. They were like the gods of the Celestial Plain—like two sides of the same coin." He pulled a golden five yen coin out of his pocket and flipped it into the air, watching it fall back into his hand. "But on to the story. This man of the Moon Tribe was also an emissary to the Celestial Plain, to keep peaceful relations between the two nations. Except he fell in love where he shouldn't have." The man's expression darkened. "He fell in love with the Celestials and their gods. He did not renounce his own, but he expressed doubt, and that was more than enough to convince the Princess._

_"He convinced the Princess that they should share more than relations with the Celestials. He offered to share technologies and ideas, and to even bring their gods and religion to the moon. The Princess agreed, believing it was a good idea. So they packed a ship full of Moon Tribe technologies and sent it to the Celestial Plain."_

_"Weren't the demons mad?" Aki asked, cocking his head._

_"Of course they were. They were furious that the Moon Tribe would forget who they owed their secrets to. They started rampaging and terrorizing the moon and all those who lived upon it. Those who had originally wanted to get rid of the demons were only more convinced now, and those who had remained loyal blamed the unstable faith of the others. Civil war broke loose on the moon. And do you know what happened to the Princess?"_

_"What?" the children breathed._

_"She escaped," said the man. "She left the moon to deal with its own problems and fled to safety. The man who had betrayed his people remained on the Celestial Plain, blissfully unaware of the events unfolding because of him._

_"Even in the end, however, fate caught up with this man. The demon gods arrived on the Celestial Plain after having ravished the moon, and they waged war on the gods of light, incensed with hatred. Terrified, the Celestials fled onto the ship, believing it to be safe. The Moon Tribe man tried sailing them to safety, but revenge fell fast and swift on them as even more demons came out of the shadows, hungry for Celestial blood. They crashed onto earth, releasing demons unto the mortal world."_

_Toi shivered. "So that's how demons came to Kamui, isn't it?"_

_"Yes, dear one. It is all the fault of the man who tried to fuse light and dark." Absentmindedly, the man flipped his coin into the air again, watching it spin with an unreadable expression. "Because of his foolishness, two entire races were destroyed, and one was threatened. Listen to me carefully, children. Light and dark can never exist together. Just like this coin—" He caught it and showed it to them. "One must always overpower the other. They cannot both be showing at the same time."_

_He stood up and brushed the dust off his pants. "Keep those birds," he said, smiling at them. "And don't ever forget what I have told you tonight."_

_"Yes sir!" Aki and Toi nodded, still shivering from the excitement of the tale. They got up and headed for the door. Toi was about to close it behind her when she thought of something that was bothering her. "Uncle," she said. "Was that story real?"_

_The man stood with his back to them as if he hadn't heard her question, but just as she was about to ask again he looked back at her, giving another slight smile. "It's a story," he replied. He flicked the coin at her, and she caught it. "Is it real, or is it not? That's not for me to answer, is it?"_

_Toi looked down at the coin. "May we come again, Uncle?" she asked, hoping she could hear more stories. Even Tuskle had never told her one like this._

_The man smiled. "Maybe," he said. She was satisfied with that for now. She and Aki headed back down the stairs with the copper birds on their shoulders. The last thing she saw of the strange man was his gray eyes looking back at the both of them with amusement before the wooden door swung shut._

_They tried to find the stone tower with the man several times after, but the narrow path had disappeared. Everything else in Yoshpet was the same, but after that day, no matter how many times she tried to remember which path she had taken, she could never seem to remember. Maybe it was a dream._

_The only thing they had to remind them it wasn't were the two copper birds that followed them everywhere they went…_


	3. Cold Winds Rising

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated this is a while...writer's block, other stories, school, and the internet seemed to have gotten in the way (curse them, especially you, internet, you fiendish procrastination tool, you), but now I'm writing more of this to get over writer's block for my other stories! (Hooray?) I haven't given up hope for this story yet-I've got the basic plot outlined already, the hardest part is just going to be writing it all down. ;3; So even if I don't update in a while, please don't be discouraged! I promise to finish eventually!  
**

**IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: I came up with the idea for this story before Okamiden came out, so while I WILL be using certain Okamiden characters and plot points, I also have no intention of giving up the original plotline (which is VERY different from the game, and will inevitably relate more closely to Okami than its sequel). If you've read up to this point, you know that I've included quite a few OCs already, and that instead of nine months, this game takes place about 10 years after the events in Okami. **

**That being said, I'd love your thoughts and reviews, and I hope you enjoy!**

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**Chapter 2: Cold Winds Rising  
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"There," Kokari said, brushing his hands together. "How's that for a shelter, Aki and Ume? Pretty good, if I do say so myself!"

Aki wagged his tail. Kokari was good at these types of things. A vicious blizzard had cut through their shelter, so they had been forced to spend a couple days at Chief Samickle's hut. Kokari promised he'd have a new hut built for the three of them soon, and sure enough, he did—Kokari was good on his promises.

Ume shook his pinkish coat, which had started to accumulate snowflakes. He was starting to get old, and the cold wasn't doing anything for his joints. When he was younger, he would often spar with Aki until the two of them were hot and out of breath, but nowadays he preferred to stretch out by the fire, warming his stomach and telling the young wolf stories. He told Aki all about his previous days as a Canine Warrior to a Princess far to the south, and how one day he had traveled to a forest far from home and got badly wounded during a mission. Kokari found him and nursed him back to heath with the help of his father. He had never left Kokari's side since that day, and the two of them were as inseparable as blood brothers.

_At last_, Ume said. _Nice fire! Beds!_ The old Canine Warrior rushed into the hut faster than Aki thought possible for an old dog with arthritis and settled down on the mat right next to the spit fire while Kokari made a flame. Aki joined Ume by the fire and curled up tightly. Even though he was already ten years old in human years, he was still really small. The other Oina children were bigger than him when they became wolves. Even Toi was, although she didn't brag about it. She knew he was very self-conscious about his size and the fact that he couldn't turn into a human. "Don't worry, Aki," Toi's mother, Kai told him often. "You're a divine being, not an Oina. You mature differently than we do. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before you start growing and get your human form."

"He might not get one at all," said Toi's father, Oki, who was not one to mince words. "I'm not sure if divine beings have human forms or not. Surely when I fought alongside Amaterasu she showed no signs of becoming human." Even so, the navy warrior taught Aki everything he knew about fighting as a wolf, and also tried teaching him how to transform, if he ever discovered that he could. Perhaps the only thing he could do that Amaterasu could not was communicate with humans, albeit telepathically and only if they had strong spiritual belief. And he was often told that his eyes were not the usual soft amber color of a divine being, though what color they were, no one could tell him.

"Alright boys," Kokari said, grinning wildly. He pulled out his favorite red fishing pole. "Ready to go fishing?"

Aki and Ume barked in agreement, and the three of them were about to head over to their favorite fishing spot by the dojo when they saw Lika sitting by the water. She turned around and smiled at them, as if she knew they would come there.

Lika was now a young woman, and a beautiful one at that. She kept her hair short, preferring it to fall just above her shoulders. She had become tall and slender, and the green outer jacket she wore only helped accentuate her curves. She was bright and cheerful and radiated confidence and spiritual prowess. She no longer lived with her sister, instead living with Tuskle on the edge of Laochi Lake in order to become a priestess. She came over to her sister's house every day, however, and from what Aki heard from Toi, she already had several proposals of marriage, even from foreigners and travelers, but she had declined them all.

"Lika?" Kokari said, surprised. The young priestess didn't come down from the village often. "What are you doing here?"

Lika lifted her chin up defiantly. "What's wrong with coming to visit a friend every so often?" she replied. "I knew you'd come here, Kokari. Geez. Doesn't fishing ever get boring?"

Kokari sighed, noticing that the Oina girl changed the subject. "Lika, you never come down just 'to visit'. Is there something wrong? Something that needs fixing? I can do it, whatever you need."

Lika opened her mouth to say something, then turned away, irritated. "Idiot. Nothing needs to be fixed. Kai just wanted to invite you guys over for dinner and asked me to deliver the message. But on second thought, I don't want you to come. Oh, but you're welcome to come if you'd like, Aki. I'm sure Toi would enjoy the company." She beamed at him, then got up and brushed past Kokari icily.

"Eeehh, I don't understand her sometimes," Kokari sighed, watching her go. "What'd she come all the way here for, then?"

Ume chuckled. _Oh, to be young again_, he said. _Aki, tell that boy he needs to go to Kai's dinner tonight no matter what._

_Erm, alright,_ Aki said, a little confused. He didn't understand what went on between human boys and girls anyway. It was all too complicated for him. But he told Kokari, "I'm sure she didn't mean it. And Kai invited us, didn't she? I don't want to go by myself," he added for good measure. "And free dinner's always nice."

"That's true," Kokari said. "I wouldn't want Kai's kindness to go to waste." He thought about something for a moment, then added frantically, "But if Lika kills me, I'm blaming you, got it?"

"I don't think that would help anything by that point," he replied, thinking of the young priestess-in-training's formidable spiritual prowess, and Ume chuckled.

They had barely settled down to fish when Toi came running down the path, white puffs of air clouding in front of her face. Toi had the same face as her mother, long and slender, the only difference being that she wore a black fox mask instead of a deer one. She wore a blackish-blue outer jacket to match the color of her mask, and her dark mahogany-colored hair poofed haphazardly out of her ponytail, much in the same way as her father's unruly mane.

"Was Lika here? Did you get the message?" she asked, her breath coming out in short, rapid clouds.

"She came—" Kokari began, but Aki finished for him, "She told us about the dinner, no need to worry."

"Oh good," Toi sighed, and Aki knew he was right to have guessed why she had come. From what he knew about Lika and Kai, he assumed someone would have been sent to double check.

"Lika came in all in a huff and Mom was worried she didn't give you the message properly, if at all. You know how Lika is." Toi glanced up at Kokari, her eyes betraying a glint of amusement. Then, turning to Aki, she asked airily, "Caught any fish?"

"Not yet, we barely started," he said.

"Oh. Well, if you do catch anything, make sure to bring it to dinner, alright? Mom can always use a good fish or two." With that, Toi scampered back to the Wep'keer village to help Kai prepare the meal.

"I hope she'll be safe," Kokari said, frowning after her. Even after the great goddess Amaterasu's defeat of the Lord of Darkness, the cold plains of Kamui were still host to lesser demons who garnered strength and courage in numbers. The more wicked demons were all gone, however, so Aki wasn't too worried. Besides, she had the village's greatest warrior as her father, after all.

By the time they packed up to go to Kai's dinner, they had caught a couple flying fish and an octopus.

"These are for having us over for dinner," Kokari said, handing the basket to Kai. She couldn't have been more pleased. Oki and Kokari had a conversation about the recent storm and how the demons seemed to be growing bolder, while Kai inquired about Issun and how Aki's brush lessons were coming along. Even Lika seemed to have forgotten her brief animosity toward Kokari and was laughing at something he said, her eyes sparkling prettily behind her mask.

After dinner was over, Toi pulled Aki away while Kokari and her family were busy helping clean up.

"I had a dream yesterday," she admitted. She pulled a stack of heavy blankets off a chest and carefully placed them behind her, obscuring their activities from the others. "It was the one about that tower. You remember, right?"

"Yeah," said Aki. He felt a stirring of the old excitement coming back to him. That had been so long ago. Why was Toi bringing it up now?

Toi's mask slipped as she opened the old chest in the corner, and she brought up a hand to fix it. "Well, I was digging through my old stuff this morning…" She rummaged around the chest, pushing aside worn books and ragged dolls. "…and I found these."

Aki's eyes widened as Toi pulled out two tiny copper birds. Their eyes were closed and one's wing was at a strange angle, but they were there, and they were real—the only proof that the strange stone tower and the man inside it existed as well.

There was a loud clatter from behind them as Kokari dropped a cup. It was made of heavy clay so it wasn't broken, but he apologized profusely anyway. Toi hurriedly tucked the little birds away again.

"You want to go look for it again, don't you?"

She nodded breathlessly.

Aki itched to go exploring as well, but he cast an anxious glance at Oki and Kai. "Your parents won't let us go though," he said, "it's already dark out."

Toi's eyes glinted mischievously. "That's why I asked Mom if you guys could come over tonight. It's easier to slip away. Watch this."

Aki followed close behind Toi as she walked up to Kokari, who had resorted to sitting back at the table and was picking at the wood. "Aki and I are going outside, okay?" she said. "If Mom or Dad asks, we won't be far."

"What? Sure," said Kokari, who barely gave them a passing glance. Ume was sleeping soundly at his feet.

Toi became a wolf as soon as they stepped outside, and they made their way to the cursed forest. Snow fell around them, soft and steady, and flew in powdery clouds beneath their paws.

"Do you remember the way, Toi?"

"No," she admitted. "But I think it wouldn't matter even if I did."

Toi led them through the forest—darting down a path here, sniffing down one there, running up and down hills and across patches of slippery ice. The unease Aki always felt in Yoshpet began settling in again, stronger than usual. Maybe it was because he had never been in Yoshpet when it was so dark, or because the silhouette of that rock in the bushes looked like a particularly large demon, or because the falling snow muffled all the sounds and made the forest seem eerily quiet. Toi was running ahead when the rock Aki noticed earlier jumped from behind the trees, and before Aki could cry out to her the largest demon he had ever seen landed before her, barring the path. Toi yelped and skittered out of the way as it stomped and shook its awful, toothy-grinned stone face. The demon clapped its spiked clubs together with an ear-splitting shriek and pounded them into the ground, missing the little black wolf by a hair. The ground where the clubs met erupted into rubble and flame, and Aki's sigh of relief quickly changed to terror as Toi was sent flying into a tree with a sickening thud.

The red demon snorted and turned its masked face toward him. His mind froze as he frantically thought back to his brush lessons with Issun.

_"Calm your mind, kid," he always said. "That's the first step in brush technique. Your mom could do that better than anyone—it was like time stopped or something. Although ya know, sometimes I doubted she had much of anything goin' on in that furbrain of hers…"_

_Calm your mind, calm your mind, calm your mind…_But all he could think about was how he was going to die, and how Toi hadn't moved at all, and that the demon was too big and he was too small, and would his brush be any use at all…?

The demon roared and raised its clubs, preparing to send another shockwave. Aki stood helpless, frozen in time himself while the world seemed to move faster.

"HEY KID! GET OVER HERE!"

The voice shook Aki from his stupor, and he leapt out of the way as the clubs came crashing down. They landed right at the spot where his head had been a moment before, and the shockwave rendered trees from the ground. The demon hissed in frustration at the loss of its prey, and then screamed in rage and pain. A slender brown wolf was nipping around the monster's face, while a large navy wolf slashed at the demon's weak backside with a sword. Enraged, the demon tried to swipe at the brown wolf in front of it, but it was too fast and ducked under to sink its teeth into the throat.

"_Phew!_ That was callin' it close, kid." A bouncing green light made its way over to Aki. "Help me get Toi. What're you kids doin' in the forest at this time of night anyway?"

Issun hopped over to Toi, who they could tell was alive only because of the faint up and down movement of her fur as she breathed. Gingerly, Aki grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and pulled her out of the way of the demon and its attackers. Aki was glad to see it was losing the fight.

"Ouch, this doesn't look good," Issun muttered. "We've gotta get her to Tuskle, fast!"

Kokari stepped out of the bushes, followed by a slender, lime colored wolf Aki knew as Lika. Lika shifted into a human and scooped Toi into her arms.

"Can you lead us back, Issun?" she asked.

"'Course I can, that's what I'm here for," the Poncle said. Kokari lifted Aki into his arms as well, and he was too frightened and stunned to protest.

After that, there was a lot of bustling around, none of which was done by him. Tuskle bustled through herbs and books and bandages. Lika bustled around to fetch whatever Tuskle ordered her to, which mostly consisted of blankets and more herbs and bandages. Even Kokari found something to do besides hover anxiously and bustled to fetch more firewood and some water from the lake. The only ones not busy were Aki and Issun, but without anything to do besides watch helplessly, guilt gnawed through him like a worm in a bad chestnut. _We shouldn't have gone. I should've stopped her, it was too dark, it's too dangerous, we're too young to fight demons._ He remembered the demon's leering face-mask as it raised its arms to strike, and he had never felt so powerless. _I'm the son of Amaterasu. I should be able to protect people._ But he couldn't even protect his best friend.

Kai and Oki came later, after they killed the demon. They asked him if he was okay, but they didn't say anything else. He wished they would scold him, or blame him for not protecting Toi, but they didn't do that either, even though he knew that's what they were thinking.

Tuskle pushed a bowl under his nose. "Drink this," she said, her voice firm yet gentle.

Aki shook his head. "I'm fine."

"No you're not, young pup," she said. "You've had a big scare tonight. This will calm you. Your shamaness commands it."

Reluctantly, he lapped up some of the soup, and the warmth instantly filled his chest and his legs and filled his head with a buzzing that left no room for other thoughts. Tuskle nodded, pleased, and returned to tending Toi.

"She'll be alright," Issun assured him. Kokari nodded, a slight frown on his face.

"I've been wanting to talk to you for a while about this, Issun," he said. "You've felt it too, haven't you?"

"Yes," Issun finally said, after pondering something. "The days have gotten colder."

The Poncle's confirmation made Kokari's face darken. "I thought so." He sighed. "Sometimes I wonder what's happening in Nippon. It's too isolated up here. Nice, in peaceful times. But…" He wrapped his arms around himself and glanced at the swirling snow outside. "Aki, I was going to tell you this later, when I would be better prepared, but I don't think it can wait any longer."

Aki startled, surprised to be addressed.

"I'm bringing Ume back down to Nippon, to visit my home. I want to make sure everything's still okay there. Would you…like to come with me?"

Go down to Nippon? Aki had never known anything but the cold lands of Kamui (except perhaps the Celestial Plains, but he couldn't remember them, in any case). All he knew about Nippon was that it was green and warm and there were big, bustling cities where the Emperor lived. He looked over at Toi, who had been changed into her human form forcibly by Tuskle and was resting peacefully beneath a mound of blankets. _She'll be fine._

He turned back to Kokari, his eyes set with determination. He wasn't going to let demons hurt anyone again, not if he could help it. Issun and Kokari's grim attitudes also worried him. If demons were coming back, who better to stop them then the son of the mother of Nippon?

"I'll go."

"Then I'm goin' with ya!" Issun said, hopping onto Aki's head. "A Celestial Envoy's work is never finished!"

Aki padded over to the bed, squeezing between Kai and Oki. He nuzzled Toi's hand. "I'll come back stronger, so you get better too, okay?" he murmured. When he was done he went back to Kokari.

"When do we leave?"

Kokari's eyes were resting on Lika, and they were tinged with a little bit of sadness. "Tonight," he said.


	4. An Unexpected Detour

**Chapter 3: An Unexpected Detour**

Morning came cold and grey. Aki, Kokari, Ume, and Issun spent the majority of the previous night packing provisions and basic necessities, and trudged through the snow until they collapsed in a tunnel that Issun swore would lead them out of Kamiki. It was a good thing they left when they did, too—the snow had fallen fast and heavy during the night, and now barely an inch of light seeped from under the top of the cave entrance. Aki had to admit, the cave was much warmer than being out in the snow, although it was hardly comfortable to sleep on rock.

"It shouldn't be too far," Issun said, rallying the troops. "And at least it'll be warm."

Aki couldn't wait to see Nippon for himself, but Kokari and Issun seemed to hold more reservations. Last night's greater demon seemed to have made them more anxious than excited about what lay in store. Kokari twisted and turned in his sleep all night, and Aki heard Issun muttering something about his mother. "Where are you, Ammy?" he asked, again and again. If Amaterasu heard, she never answered.

He pulled the copper bird out of his pouch. He didn't know what impulse led him to bring it along. It was old and useless and broken, besides. But it reminded him of Toi, and he felt closer to her with it near. Kokari was packing up, so he tucked the bird back into his pouch and stretched his aching legs.

The rock tunnel turned to stone, and for a moment Aki thought they would find themselves at the tower again. When they climbed the steps, however, they emerged from a round observatory overlooking a vast, green plain.

Issun and Kokari let go of the breath they had been holding. Aki relished the cool of the breeze and the warmth of the sun on his fur. A Guardian Sapling bloomed magnificently in the center of the field, and a river leading into the sea cut behind it.

"Looks like Shinshu Field hasn't been touched," Kokari said brightly. "That has to be a good sign, right?"

"I wouldn't be so sure, kid," said Issun. When Kokari's face fell, he added, "but that's just me bein' a pessimist!"

The four of them made their way down the hill, Aki and Issun jumping down without a problem, but Kokari had to be more careful with Ume in his arms. The dog was too old to jump, and the landing would have snapped his legs. Aki took a deep breath of the warm, fresh air, and a sudden urge to race across the wide open grass overcame him. The grass was soft and cool against his paws, unlike the crunchy cold of snow.

_Wait for me! _Ume barked. Kokari laughed.

_So this is the power of the sun,_ Aki thought, barking happily back at the old Canine Warrior. Everyone seemed to be much more at ease.

Kokari led them to the river that would take them to Agata Forest, but stopped abruptly when he saw its condition. The riverbed was long since dried out, and where a cave entrance had once been heavy rocks filled its place. A sign next to the dock read, _Ferry Out of Service_. The boat in question was lying upside down in the mud, half caked into the riverbed. Kokari shook his head in disbelief and said something, but Aki didn't hear. As soon as he had walked up to the abandoned dock, he felt something tugging at the edges of his mind. He wasn't supposed to be here. Someone was calling him, calling his name, calling for the sun god…

"Aki?" he heard Issun say, but his voice sounded muffled and far away, and the tugging was growing more urgent. He raced across Shinshu Field to answer the summons, vaguely aware of the Poncle leaping onto his back.

"—materasu…"

He was closer now.

"…please…"

The tug ebbed away and slowly the fog clouding his eyes and ears did as well.

"Oh Amaterasu, origin of all that is good and mother to us all…"

Aki shook the remaining cloudiness away and bumped into a statue. Amaterasu, the summoner had said. He blinked, still a little disoriented. That was his mother's name, not his. Yet when he heard it, somehow he responded.

"…hear my plea and return to us from the heavens…"

Issun dropped from Aki's head and bounced out from behind the statue, which Aki saw was in the likeness of a wolf poised to attack. "S…Sakuya?"

The summoner squeaked in surprise and covered her mouth with her hand. "Oh my…but it can't be…Issun?"

"The one and only!" Issun said, puffing up. Aki peered around the statue to get a better look at the summoner Issun called Sakuya. When she saw him, she gasped and exclaimed, "Amaterasu! You've answered my prayers! You—" She frowned slightly and peered closer. "You seem to have gotten smaller. Not that it's my place to question what form you choose to arrive in, of course. To be honest, I'm relieved to see your face again, after these long ten years. Much has gone amiss, and I'm afraid there's much we need to discuss concerning—"

"Hold it, babe, that's not Ammy," Issun interrupted. "Aki, this here's Sakuya, the tree sprite of Konohana, Kamiki's famous Guardian Sapling. I've told you about Kamiki before, right? The place where the legend of Orochi began." Aki nodded, still baffled and confused. "Now Sakuya, before ya go off on your rants, you've gotta know who you're talkin' to. This isn't Ammy, but her son Akihiko."

"Her son?" Sakuya covered her mouth again in shock. Her heart-shaped face was pale and smooth, framed by long black hair that curled out gracefully in two tails. Her pale pink kimono trailed down over her feet, which Aki was surprised to find out were not on the ground at all. Delicate and airy, the tree sprite hovered in the air beside her giant Guardian Sapling. If her pale face and the scant blossoms found on her tree could be anything to go by, she was not doing well.

"Akihiko," Sakuya said, tasting his name. "You're the son of Amaterasu?"

He looked at his paws. "I'm not really sure. I never met her to be certain."

"No. You are most definitely her son. I know those divine markings anywhere." She came forward, tracing the circular marking on his forehead. A smile crept across her face. "Oh, you're so adorable!" she said suddenly, squeezing him into a hug. He wagged his tail. She smelled nice, like nectar and peaches. "I can't believe Amaterasu had a son!"

"Tell me about it," said Issun. "I found the kid curled up in the snow one day in Kamui, and he's been living with the Oina ever since. Ya know, I didn't think Ammy had it in her to be a mom!" He chuckled.

Sakuya became sober, a sad shadow darkening her face. "Yes," she murmured. "But it's quite strange. I call upon Amaterasu, and yet her son answers. I wonder…" She lifted her eyes to the heavens, and shook her head. "No, it's bad luck to think such thoughts."

_What thoughts? _Aki wanted to ask, but he was afraid of the answer.

Issun seemed to think so too. Instead he asked, "So what's that you were sayin' to Aki when you thought he was Ammy? Something about something you needed to discuss?"

"Yes," Sakuya replied. "Akihiko, demons have been rising all across Nippon, even though Orochi and the Lord of Darkness were defeated just ten years ago. I have even felt some of my saplings fall under the curse, and I cannot help but think that evil is rising once again. You may see the extent of this curse from Konohana." She gazed sadly up at the pitiful blossoms. "And now even the great sun goddess herself won't return from the heavens…"

Aki looked at Issun. "That's not a coincidence, is it?"

Issun sighed. "I don't think so, kid."

"Akihiko, I know this is much to ask of you, as you are young and—"

Aki never heard the rest of her request, since she was abruptly cut off by a young boy trudging up the path to the shrine.

"I can't do it," the boy said miserably. He wiped at his eyes, which were hidden beneath a mop of unruly black hair, and sniffled. He looked up at the shrine gates and snorted. "Pray to the gods for strength, says Mom, but what've the gods ever done? I don't see _them _fighting demons!" Even so, the little boy stepped up to the base of Konohana and peered into the large gap at its base.

Issun muttered under his breath and then hopped out from behind the statue of the wolf. "Hey kid, that's no way to talk about the gods!"

The boy jumped around too quickly and landed on his backside, staring wide eyed at the fuming Poncle. "Did your parents ever tell ya about the great goddess Amaterasu? Or the Legend of Orochi? Who d'ya think you are, kid!"

The boy's cheeks reddened and he pouted, dusting off his pants and drawing himself up as tall as he could. "O-Of course I know the Legend of Orochi! My Pops slayed the demon himself just before I was born!" He drew a toy sword from his back, holding it high in the air. "I'm Kuni, descendent of Nagi and son of the greatest warrior ever, Susano!"

"Hold up. You—You're Susano's kid?"

"Kushi's my mom," Kuni added. "I've been practicing to kill demons, but I couldn't even cut a rock." He sniffed and turned away, ashamed. "She told me to come pray up here, but what's the point? The gods won't help me anyway. I won't believe in anything I can't do with my own strength!" He sprung forward and brought the sword down on a tiny sapling, cutting it clean in half. He looked up and spotted Aki from behind the statue. "WOAH! What're you doing here, Poochie?"

"That's Akihiko, son of Amaterasu," Issun told him as Aki sat down beside him to get a closer look at the warrior boy. "And I'm Issun, Celestial Envoy and accomplished artist extraordinaire!"

"Hello," Aki said, but the boy didn't seem to hear.

Kuni scoffed. "I've no time to play with dogs, and I don't care if you're a famous artist. Artists never saved the world, did they?"

"Why you—" Issun spluttered, glowing redder by the second.

The faint scent of cherry blossoms wafted in between them. "Don't get too angry at him, Issun," Sakuya murmured. She had disappeared when Kuni came, but now she floated down close to their ears so she could talk. "He's simply lost faith in the gods. Akihiko, perhaps you could help amend that."

"Me?" Aki said. "But what could I do?"

"What your mother did," she stated simply, leaving it at that. "Take him to the shrine of heroes through the roots of the Guardian Sapling. A little company surely wouldn't do him harm."

"Unless I slash him apart with Denkomaru, of course," Issun grumbled darkly, but Sakuya had already left. Aki took her advice and grabbed a mouthful of the boy's clothes.

"Hey stupid poochie, what're you doing?" Kuni cried as Aki threw him onto his back. Issun followed behind as Aki ran down the path underneath the roots of Konohana. He hoped Kuni was holding on tight.

"Woah, where'd you bring me, Poochie?" Kuni said, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. The three of them were staring across an expanse of night sky on a lush, green field. "This isn't the shrine of heroes!"

"This is the River of Heavens," Issun said.

_It doesn't look much like a river._ The River of Heavens had become almost as dry as the port to Agata Forest, with only a puddle of stars twinkling by the banks. The rest of the river was filled by an empty night sky.

"That's weird…" mumbled Issun, but Aki felt another strange tug, pulling him away from the river and up a hill to the right.

"Hey, look at those stars!" Kuni said, pointing directly above them.

"Aki, that's a brush god constellation!" said Issun. "If I remember correctly, this one should be…But why is it still here…?"

Something was missing, Aki thought. The tugging feeling had become more of a tingling emptiness centered around a particular spot, so he dabbed at it with his brush and a star appeared, forming a long, snakelike constellation.

As soon as he finished, they were whisked into bright, swirling clouds. Two white seahorses reined in front of them, holding bright pots of ink.

_Hail Akihiko, son of Amaterasu, origin of all that is good and mother to us all,_ they said. _We are the children of Yomigami, the god of Rejuvenation._

"Children?" said Issun, baffled. "Why are we meeting with Yomigami's children? Where's Yomigami?"

The dragon children looked sadly down at Issun. _Our father has disappeared, and we do not know where he has gone,_ they explained. _As his children, we are not nearly as strong, but we will do whatever it takes to aid you in your quest, Little Sun._

From the golden inkpots came a flurry of sparkling glitter that conjoined into a single, glowing white orb. It soared around the seahorses and disappeared into Aki's chest, filling him for a moment with a burst of power and warmth. The surge ebbed, but he felt strangely stronger than before.

_Something is stirring, child of the sun,_ the dragon children said fretfully. _That is why the demons have returned. That is why the River of Heavens has been stopped. The gods will not come down from heaven, so they send their children in their place. But we are too weak, and too powerless to stop the evil from spreading throughout the human world. Little Sun, we will be there for you when you need us. Use our power and restore Nippon!_

"Wait, what do you mean they won't come down from heaven?"Aki asked. "Are they alright? Is my mother alright?"

The dragon children had already disappeared, however, along with the mountains and the clouds. They were standing where they had been before, on the grassy plain by the River of Heavens, underneath the dark night sky.

"Amaterasu," Aki whimpered. "Yomigami."

"What's wrong, Pooch?" Kuni said, peering into Aki's face. "You spaced out for a second. I've been saying we should go back, since we can't get across that puddle of a river anyway."

"We can now," Issun pointed out. "Aki's got the Rejuvenation brush power."

"The what?" Kuni said.

Aki filled in the river, and Kuni rubbed his eyes again. "What—How'd you—" He gave Aki a suspicious look, but he simply wagged his tail and threw the boy over his back. When they reached the opposite bank, Aki turned around to find Issun still musing on the other side. "Issun!" he called.

"What? Oh, I'll meet you outside!" the Poncle said.

Kuni scrambled off Aki's back and ran to the entrance of the cave. "C'mon, Poochie, I've gotta pray to the gods, remember?"

"Right," Aki said and followed the boy into the shrine.

* * *

**A/N: In case any of you didn't notice, I drew heavily from my discontinued story, Dawn of the Little Sun for this chapter, since I've decided to use the plot for this story. I've also made Kuni different from how he is in the game based on my impression of him from Okamiden spoilers before the game came out (as I said this will be mostly based off my speculations from before I played Okamiden, so characters will be different, but I hope that doesn't turn you off the story). **

**Please review! :D**


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